Cherish
by Queen Kakia
Summary: Cut from JtNY (aka MiTC)...what happened the night when Max and Tess were coming home? The song is Madonna's.
1. The Night Of

Title: **Cherish**  
Author: **Kakia**  
Pairing: **Tess/Max**  
Disclaimer: **Not mine.** Feeback: **YES! Go review!**  
  
Max turned the key into the lock and swung the motel door open. He peered in, then looked back at her. "Our home for tonight."  
  
She shrugged. "Better than that taxi." She'd slept in worse places than this, too.  
  
They walked inside. It was relatively clean, surprisingly. No fancy or anything, but it didn't look like she would catch five diseases tonight. The clock by the bed had a radio, so she went over and turned it on.  
  
"-play 'Cherish' by Madonna? I'd like to dedicate it to my boyfriend, Jared," said a caller.  
  
"Coming right up," the DJ replied, and the music started to play.  
  
"No, Tess, I want to go to sleep," Max complained.  
  
_//So tired of broken hearts  
And losing at this game  
Before I start this dance  
I take a chance in telling you  
I want more than just romance//_  
  
She rolled her eyes. "Okay, but the music stays on. I _love_ this song."  
  
"Fine." The light switched off, and she heard him sinking into the couch near her bed.  
  
_//You are my destiny  
I can't let go Baby can't you see//_  
  
Her eyes got used to the light, and she saw Max sitting up on the couch, eyes wide open.  
  
"Max?" she said softly.  
  
_//Cupid, please take your aim at me//_  
  
He shook himself and looked up at her. "Are you all right?" she asked.  
  
"Yeah, I'm fine." He sighed softly, but not so softly thatshe ddin't hear it.  
  
The boy needed therapy. Badly. She realized that she was his only choice-not just now, because she was the only one with him, but in general, because she was the only one who wasn't upset with him. "Okay, so is this about Liz Parker again or almost dying?"  
  
_//Cherish the thought  
Of always having you here by my side  
Oh baby I  
Cherish the joy  
You keep bringing it into my life  
I'm always singing it  
Cherish your strength  
You've got the power to make me feel good  
And baby I  
Perish the though  
Of ever leaving, I never would//_  
  
"Tess!" he protested, almost making her laugh out loud. "That's not fair to me. I care about other things besides Liz."  
  
"I'm not accusing you of anything, Max," she replied. "You're in love with the girl--I'm sure if I were in love with someone, I might value him over my life." If? There was no if, and there was no might.  
  
_//I was never satisfied with casual encounters  
I can't hide my need for two hearts that bleed  
With burning love  
That's the way it's got to be//_  
  
"Tess, the girl ripped my heart out, spit at it, and then stomped on it," he insisted. "I'm over her. What do you take me for?"  
  
"You're over Liz," she repeated skeptically.  
  
Her eyes must not have been that used to the darkness, because before she saw him getting off the couch, he was standing right in front of her.  
  
They stood there for a few seconds, just looking at each other. Staring--staring at each other. Staring _into_ each other. She tried to swallow, and found that it didn't work.  
  
_//Romeo and Juliet  
They never felt this way I bet//_  
  
The kiss was sweet at first. A light, lips-playing-with-lips kiss. Her bones melted and became butterscotch syrup. Which promptly caught fire as the kiss intensified. Their tongues were on fire, eating each other alive.  
  
_//So don't underestimate my point of view//_  
  
After that, everything became a blur. A mix of heat, skin, and fabric. She tasted salt. She loved salt. She was addicted to salt. Like she was addicted to Max.  
  
_//Who?  
You!  
Can't get away, I won't let you//_  
  
She was crying. Wasn't she? She couldn't tell. Max kissed away her tears. Why was she crying? She was happy...so happy. In love. Was she?  
  
_//Who?  
You!  
I could never forget to//_  
  
It was getting hard to breathe, but she didn't need air. She needed him. She drank him in, the feel of his muscles, the taste of his skin, the scent of his aura. His sparkling jade aura which seemed to glow.  
  
_//Cherish is the word I use to remind me of  
Your love//_  
  
She'd had sex once before in her life. Joel had been infatuated with her, but he'd been her best friend. That night, she'd had a huge fight with Nasedo and had been burning with anger all night. She'd felt bad for using him just to get back at Nasedo, but they'd both gotten what they'd wanted. For the night.  
  
She'd moved to San Fransisco the next day.  
  
_//Romeo and Juliet  
They never felt this way, I bet//_  
  
They moved fluidly together, like two cups of milk being poured into a vat together. He was gold, pure gold, and she was silver. The heat in the bed was so intense that they had melted, and were now molded into one alloy.  
  
_//So don't underestimate my point of view//_  
  
When it was all over, the lay there, panting. Just staring into each other. The way it had al started. Finally, they started to drift off. Just before she fell asleep, Tess rolled over and whispered into his ear. "I guess you're over Liz, huh?"


	2. The Evening After

**Chapter 2**  
  
The taxi dropped them off in front of Max's house. They walked up the front walk and opened the door.  
  
"Hello?" Max called as they walked in. "Isabel? Mom? Dad?" Nobody answered him. "Looks like we've got the place to ourself." He raised his eyebrows and made longing eyes at her. Right. Like those would work on her. He'd obviously forgetten with whom he was dealing for a second.  
  
_//Cherish the thought  
Of always having you here by my side//_  
  
She licked her lips seductively at him, but then frowned. "No, we have to tell everyone that we're home first. They're probably insane with worry. Do you have the Crashdown number?"  
  
"I know it by heart." He grinned sheepishly. "I used to order from there all the time, back when I was obsessed with Liz. Before I told her. A little afterwards, too."  
  
_//Oh baby, I  
Cherish the joy  
Of always having you here by my side  
I'm always singing it//_  
  
She ignored the pang of jealousy that hit her every time Max said Liz's name. He was over Liz--he'd proved it to her last night. "Okay," she took the phone off the kitchen counter and handed it to him, "let's announce our homecoming."  
  
He punched in a few numbers and brought the phone to his ear. "Hi, is Liz or Maria there?" Pause. "Just let me speak to one of them, okay?" Longer pause. "Hi, it's Max. I'm back."  
  
She heard some squealing on the other side. Must be Maria. She laughed to herself. She actually liked Maria...in a strange, vague way. She did like her personality. She just didn't like the way Maria treated her...or the way she treated Michael, for that matter.  
  
"It's complicated," Max was saying. "I'll explain it to everyone at once. The restaurant is closing in ten minutes, right?" Pause. "Okay, okay. Put her on." He turned around and mouthed, _Liz_.  
  
_//Cherish your strength  
You've got the power to make me feel good//_  
  
She nodded. Right. Liz. _Shut up and stop being so whiny._  
  
"Yes, I'm fine." Pause. "Oh, and I saw you. Thank you for saving my life." Pause. "I guess we are." Pause. "Sweden? When did he go?" Pause. "Oh, okay, then I'll see you when we get there." Pause. "Bye." He turned to her. "Let's go."  
  
"Wait, Max." He stopped. "What are we going to tell them? About us?"  
  
He hadn't thought of it. He actually hadn't realized that when he walked in there, Liz was going to expect him to sweep her off her feet and wrap her in his arms and kiss her. And she'd thought Michael was the blockhead.  
  
He actually scratched his head. "What can we tell them? If we tell them, they'll kill us."  
  
"So what--we're going to walk into there and...what, Max?" she demanded. "Are you going to get back together with Liz?"  
  
"No!" he insisted. "It's just...well, if we tell them, Isabel, Maria, and Michael will murder me. Especially Maria. She is the biggest dreamer. And Liz will be crushed."  
  
_//Oh baby, I  
Perish the thought  
Of ever leaving, I never would//_  
  
Did he not get it? "But what about _me_, Max? What if you crush _me_?" But, of course, Tess Harding doesn't get hurt feelings. "Listen, Max, I'm tired of being toyed with. Okay? The first 10 years of my life, I was waiting for you to come in to my life. You didn't, of course, so I had to find you. And then you didn't love me. So I was getting over you. But then we went to New York..." No, she _wasn't_ going to cry. She would never, _never_ forgive herself if she did. "We went to New York, and...dammit, Max, it was perfect! And everything came rushing back. But you know what Max? You don't _own_ me. I can still walk away if you keep playing with me. So cut it the hell out."  
  
He was looking at her in shock, and she almost felt bad for yelling at him like that. She knew he hadn't meant it like that, but she needed to explode sometime. And now was as good a time as any.  
  
"Wow, I-I didn't know," he stammered. "I mean--I'm sorry, Tess, I never realized--"  
  
"Forget it." She tried to dismiss the topic with a wave of her hand, but maybe he was Prince Charming after all, because he wouldn't let her.  
  
"No, Tess," he protested. "I'm sorry. I didn't realize. I was stupid and selfish and thoughtless." But... "But. We can't tell them now. That doens't mean we can't be together, it just means that we have to break it slowly to them. Somehow."  
  
Better than nothing. "Okay." She gave him a little kiss and walked out of the house, him following.  
  
They got into the Jeep and drove in silence to the Crashdown. It wasn't uncomfortable silence--it was the kind of silence you sense when you're watching the sun come up with nobody around, silence that tells you that no matter what your life was just like yesterday and will be like today, it's perfect right now, and everything will be all right.  
  
Finally, they reached the Crashdown. And the silence was broken, along with the happiness. He looked over at hwe like a lost puppy. "So this is it."  
  
"For now," she added. She was hurting so badly she couldn't cry. But why? They could still be together...when no one else was around. So why did it hurt so badly? "Let's go in." She opened the door on her side.  
  
"Wait, Tess." He grabbed her jacket, and pulled her toward him. They looked at each other for a few seconds, unsure. Finally, they leaned in for a kiss. A goodbye kiss? She wasn't sure. It was sweet, it was slightly hungry, but at the same time, it wasn't. It was just a Max kiss. A kiss that described Max's personality--from the broad "serious" overtone to the little flecks of humor and sexuality and all the little pieces of Max with no word attributed to them because they were so incredible. So alien. But that's what they were, and she loved it.  
  
And then it was over. "Come on." He got of of the car, and came around to open the door for her. Then she watched him walk into the Crashdown.  
  
Goodbye, Max.  
  
_//Give me faith  
Give me joy, my boy  
I will always cherish you//_  
  
**Fin**


End file.
